


No Secrets

by shadowfox8



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25681576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowfox8/pseuds/shadowfox8
Summary: Alan decides to keep an injury a secret, shrugging it off as minor. Little does he know, his older brother knows him better than he thinks.
Relationships: Alan Tracy/Virgil Tracy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	No Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, again! Here I am randomly returning whenever my muse decides to play nice! Enjoy!

**No Secrets**

Alan shut the door to his bedroom behind him and gingerly made his way to his ensuite, intent on jumping into the hot shower. His tired body ached, and his ribs and shoulder weren't doing him any favors.

Quickly discarding his uniform, the twenty-one year old allowed the warm water to hit his body. The rescue itself hadn't been a hard one, just mentally taxing as his patience had been tested one too many times. Especially when the civilians thought they knew better than their would-be rescuers. That point had nearly cost him his life and the life of two distillery works.

Rubbing his right side cautiously, Alan grimaced at the memory. International Rescue had been called to assist with a massive explosion at a distillery factory. A fire that had been a casualty of an earthquake that had rocked the area. While his brothers were busy clearing the main structure, Alan had been tasked with emptying the adjacent buildings where the fire had just begun to spread. Unfortunately for the youngest Tracy, two of the workers deemed him too young to call the shots. Amid their argument, an explosion from the main building exploded into their area. Alan did his best to land gracefully, but as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, he knew his body had absorbed quite a bit of that hit.

Drying himself off, Alan pulled on a new pair of shorts and walked into his bedroom. Reaching for a shirt from the bottom drawer of his dresser, he paused and tried to stifle his cry of pain as the action instantly aggravated his right side. Alan gripped his side and took in a steadying breath. So, maybe this wasn't just nothing. Turning toward his mirror, Alan took in the damage. Multiple darkening bruises riddled his right arm and torso. A sizeable purple bump spotted his upper right arm, but a wave of dark purplish-blue seemed to be growing along his right ribcage and chest. Sighing, Alan turned to attempt another grab at a shirt but jumped as he was met with the concerned form of his older brother.

"Jesu-Virgil!" Alan exclaimed in surprise, gripping his side in pain at the jolt. He quickly tried to stand straighter and dropped his hand. "How long have you been standing there?"

Virgil raised an amused eyebrow, but instantly took ahold of his baby brother's frame. "Long enough," the brunette frowned, eyeing the bruises on Alan's body. "Were you planning on telling me?"

Alan groaned, allowing a sheepish grin to appear on his face. "Maybe…"

"Sit," Virgil demanded as he guided Alan onto his bed. Taking his brother's right arm in his hands, he moved the limb as he checked for any issues. Virgil's frown only deepened as he noticed what appeared to be a welt forming. "Does this hurt?"

"Not really," Alan replied. "It feels sore more than anything. Just bruises, Virg."

The medic nodded, kneeling so he could inspect the rapidly darkening large bruises around Alan's ribcage. "Jeez, kid. What the heck happened to you in there?"

"Secondary explosion caught us off guard as I was trying to evacuate two uncooperative workers. Slammed into a metal canister and two wood pallets," Alan explained honestly, knowing there was no use lying. Once Virgil was in doctor-mode, there was no way out.

"You should've said something, Alan," Virgil admonished, as he gently ran his thumb over Alan's swollen ribcage. "Does this hurt?"

Alan winced, giving his answer away immediately. "Sorry, I hadn't intended to keep it from you. I honestly didn't think anything of it. Just thought I was sore from the shock of the fall."

"I want to get an x-ray of your chest to be sure you didn't crack a rib or injured anything else in the fall," Virgil instructed. "You know any fall or cut is a must-tell in my book, Allie. No secrets, remember?"

Alan ducked his head once more. "I know…"

"It's okay," Virgil said, ruffling Alan's blonde hair. Picking up the shirt his brother had attempted to grab moments before, he threw it at him. "C'mon, let's get you checked out."

"Okay," Alan begrudgingly agreed and gingerly pulled himself up from the bed, carrying the shirt. He knew he couldn't put it on just yet, but he hoped to cover his side up if they crossed any of his other siblings in the hallway. The last thing he needed was the entire house smothering him over bruises. Thankfully, the walk to the infirmary wasn't far from his bedroom.

"Alright, Sprout," Virgil said. "Let's get this over with," the brunette smiled, standing next to the body scanner.

"You don't have to be so happy about it," Alan grumbled, grunting as the movement aggravated his side.

"Should've told me sooner, and maybe you wouldn't be in so much pain," Virgil smirked, taping the machine to life in satisfaction, choosing to ignore the mild curse that escaped his baby brother's mouth.

"As I said, I didn't know it was this bad. Adrenaline must've hidden most of it. I seriously thought I was just sore!" Alan argued, glaring at his older brother.

The machine beeped before Virgil could respond to his moody baby brother. "Scan is finished. Let's get you over to one of the beds where you'll be more comfortable."

Alan pushed himself up from the table and grimaced as he had moved too fast. "Easy, Alan," Virgil urged and came to stand on the other side of him to help him. Alan waved him off and hopped down from the table but nearly dropped as another wave of pain wrapped around his torso, Virgil caught his baby brother before he could fall.

"Damn it, Alan. You're going to hurt yourself while trying to preserve your pride. Just let me help you," Virgil reprimanded, gripping his baby brother around his uninjured side. Guiding his stubborn sibling onto a nearby infirmary bed, he helped Alan position himself upon it, elevating the head so he would be more comfortable. "Just take slow breathes, kiddo," he said, rubbing his baby brother's arm tenderly as Alan had trouble taking in deep breaths. Before the medic could contemplate placing him on an oxygen mask for good measure, Alan's breathing began to level out.

Virgil walked over and grabbed an ice pack. "Here, this will help until I take a look at your scans and can give you something."

Alan gladly took the appreciated object and placed it along his abused torso. Closing his eyes as the change in temperature took him off guard for a second. Feeling a hand run through his hair, he opened his eyes to meet the worried gaze of his brother.

"You okay?" Virgil asked, watching his sibling intently.

"Yea, just peachy," Alan groaned.

Virgil looked down at Alan with sympathy. "You could be right. Adrenaline could've masked most of your pain. We were pretty busy on site of the rescue after the explosions, and you slept most of the flight home."

"Yea, maybe," Alan sighed, wincing once more.

"I'll take a look at those scans, be right back."

Alan nodded. "Gotta make sure I'm not dying, right?"

"Not funny, Alan," Virgil moaned.

Alan rubbed his side as he removed the cold pack and relaxed more of his body into the infirmary bed. "Sorry for biting your head off," the blonde apologized as the chestnut-haired Tracy walked back toward him with his datapad.

"Don't sweat it, Sprout. I'll stop giving you such a hard time. I just worry about you is all," Virgil said, resting his hand upon Alan's, squeezing it. "Just do me a favor and report any injury that happens on a rescue. No matter how small. I don't care if you have to ask me for a bandaid for a little scrape. I'd rather give you an ice pack for a bump than have to perform an emergency procedure because you developed a pneumothorax from an injury you decided wasn't a big deal."

"It's not that serious, though, right?" Alan asked, eyes wide at the mention of the pneumothorax. His brother had taught him enough about medicine that he knew that was never a good thing.

Virgil pulled up a stool, sitting beside Alan's bed as he flipped through the images on his datapad. "It could've been, Allie. Thankfully there's no internal bleeding, but you've bruised your right ribcage and cracked two of them on the bottom. When you almost fell a few minutes ago, you could've dislodged them. I don't want to scare you, but that's why this stuff is so important, kiddo. I don't just say it because I like to hear myself talk."

"At least not all the time," Alan smirked.

"Brat," Virgil said, shoving his baby brother's leg.

"So, when do I get to be on the good stuff, and can I put my shirt on finally?" Alan asked, managing a slight pout that reminded Virgil him of when he was five.

"Yes, you can and give me a minute," Virgil said, standing up and grabbing what he needed from the drug cabinet.

Alan placed one arm through his shirt and slowly pulled his shirt over his head before pushing the other arm through. Previous injuries from years past serving him well in how to handle rib injuries.

"Alright, take these," Virgil said, handing two tablets and a bottle of water to his baby brother. Alan gladly took the pills. "How's the arm feel?"

"Fine, honestly doesn't bug me all that much in comparison to everything else," Alan admitted, glancing down at his right arm. "Can I go back to my room now?"

"Depends, and you better be honest with me," Virgil said, giving his brother a knowing look. "Have any more trouble breathing?"

"No, as long as I don't breathe in too deeply and move too fast. I'm good."

"Alright," Virgil gave in. "You can go back to your room or lounge around the house, but no trips to the beach, especially on your own. Those pain meds should make you pretty sleepy, so your bed is the best place for you right now. I'll give you a couple of ice packs to take with you to help keep the swelling down."

"Can I bring a few pillows from here?" Alan inquired as he looked around the room. "I don't think I have enough in my room to help keep me propped up. Laying down isn't exactly comfortable right now."

"I'm afraid that'll be an issue for a while, kid. I'm sure I can find some somewhere. I need you to promise me something before we leave."

"What?" Alan asked suspiciously.

"That you be extra careful around the house. You, my dear brother, are accident-prone," Virgil smirked, earning a disgruntled mumble from Alan. "Second, if you start having problems breathing or start feeling more pain than before, you are to contact me, understood?"

"I understand," Alan nodded, meeting his older brother's hazel eyes.

"No secrets," Virgil emphasized, holding out his pinkie like when they were kids.

"No secrets," Alan smiled, wrapping his pinkie around his brother's.

"Oh, and Al, you know I have to tell Dad and Scott about this, right?"

Alan groaned. "Do you have to?"

"I won't tell them how I found out. However, you're officially off duty for a while, so they were bound to find out," Virgil reasoned.

"As you said, no secrets," the younger blonde sighed, accepting his fate.

"Now, you're learning!" Virgil chuckled and helped him climb out of bed.

"Just do me a favor and wait until I've fallen asleep," Alan pleaded. "Less likely to be smothered by the two of them at once."

"Deal," Virgil smirked, giving his baby brother a side hug.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my little brotherly fluff piece. I'll be honest, I toyed with making this into more, but as of right now this felt like where I should leave it. Please let me know what you thought, and I hope you are all staying healthy!
> 
> Later!


End file.
